A movie ticket to the most hyped movie in town greeted Taeyeon when she turned up for class. She picked it up, looked at it and read the note scribbled on a pink unicorn-shaped post-it pasted behind the ticket. It said:

This exclusive ticket to the premiere is for you. I have the other one. See you there.

- a senior you’ve chatted with before

“What does it say?” Hyoyeon asked, craning her neck to look. “Ooo . . . I think I know who it is.”

Taeyeon snorted. “You know and I know there’s only one senior who can get tickets to a premiere.”

“Melody Han, daughter of the famous director.”

“Mhm.”

“You’re so lucky. This is the movie everybody wants to watch.”

“Not lucky if I don’t go.”

“Why not? Melody Han is one of the prettiest seniors in school. She’s going to be an actress one day, for sure.”

Taeyeon rolled her eyes. “I’m not that superficial. I’m not going to go just because she’s pretty.”

“Then go because it’s a movie premiere. Don’t waste the ticket.”

“I won’t waste it. I’ll return it to her.”

Hyoyeon gaped at Taeyeon. “Are you seriously going to reject a movie actress?”

“She’s not a movie actress yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time. Just think about it. You could be the girlfriend of the most popular movie actress in the country.”

Taeyeon propped her legs on the table and rocked her chair back against the wall. “I’m not interested.”

“She probably won’t give you another chance if you reject her this time.”

“This isn’t the first time she’s asked me out.”

“What?” Hyoyeon’s eyes bulged more than ever. “This isn’t the first time?”

“She’s sent me texts to ask me out before. We chat a little, sometimes.”

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you’ve never told us about this.”

“I didn’t say anything because there’s nothing to tell. I’m not interested in her that way.”

“Well, it’s not like you have anyone else on your radar. You might as well give Melody Han a chance since she’s asked you more than once.”

“Who said I don’t have anyone?”

Hyoyeon leaned forward, her eyes a millimetre from dropping out onto the floor between them. “You do?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Who’s the maybe?”

Taeyeon closed her eyes. “Maybe, the American girl.”

“Tiffany?”

Taeyeon yawned as she nodded.

“Is this a joke?”

“No.”

“But you told us you hate her just two days ago. You were calling her the show-off American girl. Is this a prank or—”

Taeyeon opened her eyes when Hyoyeon trailed off and left her sentence hanging. “What?” Hyoyeon was looking right past her, pale as though she had seen a ghost. “What are you looki—holy in—Ti—ah!” she shrieked as her chair gave way under her. “Ow . . .”

“Tae! Are you okay?” Hyoyeon asked, her brows furrowed in worry.

Taeyeon’s back was hurting but she ignored it. “I’m okay. Take care of my stuff. I’m going after Tiffany,” she announced and got up quickly to run after Tiffany who had already stomped out of the classroom.

 She caught up with the speed-walking girl halfway down the corridor. “Hey. Hey, stop.” Reaching out, she managed to grab Tiffany’s wrist as it swung backwards. “Tiffany, stop.” Tiffany stopped speed-walking but didn’t turn around. Taeyeon found it odd that she was hanging her head low. “Hey, look at me.”

Tiffany avoided her, turning away when she tried to look at her face. She persisted and somehow Tiffany ended up backed against the wall just like she was on the first day they met. With Tiffany trapped between the wall and her, Taeyeon swept Tiffany’s hair out of the way and finally saw her face. “, I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”

Tiffany’s big round eyes were red and so was the tip of her nose. “I’m not crying.”

“Oh, you so are. Your eyes are totally red. And your nose is red too. Like Rudolph,” Taeyeon said, throwing in an atrocious American English accent at the end.

In spite of herself, Tiffany laughed. Then, she smacked Taeyeon’s arm and pushed her away. “Leave me alone, Korean girl,” she said, emphasizing the last bit with her accent.

Taeyeon flashed a lop-sided grin. “Not unless you stop crying and accept my apology.”

“Why are you apologizing? Don’t you hate me?”

“Not today. Not right now, no.”

“But you hated me on the first day.”

Taeyeon nodded.

“Why?”

Taeyeon shrugged. “You call my full name in an irritating way. And you spoke English so rapidly that I couldn’t catch what you were saying; that irritated me too.”

“It was an English class. Mr Park asked me to speak in English for you girls. He thought it would be a good thing for the class.”

“Well, I apologized at that time.”

“Only because Mr Park made you.”

Taeyeon drew to her full height, which was still just under Tiffany’s. “Mr Park didn’t make me. I apologized because you looked hurt and I felt bad about it. Not because Mr Park threatened me with detention. I’ve been in detention so many times that I keep a stash of chips in there to eat when I’m hungry.”

“I wasn’t showing off.”

“I know.”

“I’m not forgiving you so easily.”

Taeyeon grinned as she wiped the lone tear that finally escaped Tiffany’s eye after swimming in it all this time. “Will you forgive me if I take you to a movie?”

“That depends. Is it a treat?”

“Of course, it is.”

Tiffany’s smile made a little comeback. “When are we watching the movie?”

“How does after school on Friday sound?”

Tiffany’s smile regained its vibrancy. “It sounds great.”

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